Big Adventure is a celebration of all things pop culture and fandom and will include live evening performances by Empire of the Sun, Modest Mouse, Phantogram, Cold War Kids and more alongside stand-up sets by comics such as Jim Jefferies, Patton Oswalt, Kristen Schaal, Natasha Leggero and many others.

During the day, guests can check out television, film, gaming and comic book panels featuring fan-favorite cast members from hit shows and films, as well as numerous other special guests. They will also be able to participate in interactive VR experiences, laser tag, table top and video gaming and sit in on tech demos and discussions.

Patrons can visit the artist alley where some some of the comic book industry’s top artists and creators will discuss and sell their works, as well as be available for signings and meet-and-greets. So far, participating comic companies include Skybound, Boom! Studios, Kodansha Comics and Top Cow Productions. Participating artists include Andrew Robinson, Andy Belanger, Chris Burnham, Ivan Brandon, Matt Hawkins, Robert Wilson IV, Matt Wilson, Brent Schoonover, Tim Doyle and more.

Sign up for our Festival Pass newsletter. Whether you are a Coachella lifer or prefer to watch from afar, get weekly dispatches during the Southern California music festival season. Subscribe here.

A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available to Alt 98.7 FM listeners at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 12 at alt98.7.com. Listeners are encouraged to check the website for more information on obtaining pre-sale passwords.

General tickets for Big Adventure will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, July 13 at bigadventurefest.com. Single-day early bird tickets start at $39.50 and weekend passes start at $69.50 while supplies last. Single-day VIP Lounge and Festival Admission starts at $99.50 and Weekend VIP Lounge and Festival Admission starts at $198.50. The Ultimate VIP Comedy & Panel Preferred Seating and VIP Lounge with Festival Admission starts at $249.50. Prices will gradually increase closer to the festival date.

The Big Adventure festival dates at the OC Fair & Event Center were originally slated for the Chris Hardwick-curated ID10T Music Festival + Comic Conival, which is also produced by SGE. Hardwick revealed on his ID10T Podcast and during an interview with The Orange County Register back in February that the popular fest, which took place over two days at Shoreline Amphitheater in Silicon Valley last year, would move to Costa Mesa in 2018.

Recently Hardwick has stepped down from moderating “The Walking Dead” and other panels at San Diego Comic-Con later this month and AMC pulled his show, “Talking With Chris Hardwick,” while it investigates allegations of sexual assault made by his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra, which Hardwick has since denied. SGE commented that the ID10T Festival, which had yet to be fully announced or go on sale, was already going to be postponed due to Hardwick’s obligations to other projects.

“This is one of 25 festivals we produce every year,” SGE responded via email. “We have a great relationship with Chris and look forward to continuing our conversations about collaborating on an event together in the future.”

Kelli Skye Fadroski lives for entertainment. She’s worked at The Orange County Register since 2006 and has covered all things music, stand-up comedy, horror and more. When she’s not out reviewing a concert or interviewing some random famous person, she’s catching up on episodes of 'The Walking Dead,' somewhere sampling craft beer, enjoying Taco Tuesday or yelling at the contestants through the TV on 'Celebrity Name Game' for not knowing basic pop culture trivia. She’s also a diehard Detroit Lions fan.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.